Improvement in city railroad-cars



J. RUTH.

Carl Truck.

Patented Apr. 14, 1863.

Inventor:

W it n e s s e s: wzluMM//fw AM. PHOT0'LlTHO.C0.N.Y. (DSBORNE'S PROCESS() UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACOB RUTH, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN CITY RAILROAD-CARS.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB RUTH, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in City RailwayCars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying draw-l ings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention consisqs of certain peculiar devices, fully described hereinafter, for preventing accidents to those who may fall from city railway-cars, or may accidentally stumble on the track in front of the cars; also in certain devices, described hereinafter, for applying brakes to the wheels of the car.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I w-ill now proceed to describe its construction and operation.

On reference to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, Figure l is a side view of sufficient of a city railwaycar to illustrate my improvements, part of the frame being removed. Fi g. 2 is a vertical section; Fig. 3, a plan view, Fig. 4, a transverse vertical section; Fig. 5, a detached view of A part of my improvements.

with the bar c serving to support the drivers or conductois platform, similar bars being secured to the beams B' and C', at the opposite end of the frame, for supporting the other platform of the car. The inner frame is composed of the longitudinal beams E and E' and F and F', which are connected together by the crossbeams G and G' and H and H'. This inner frame is connected at the front by arms I I to projections on the under side of the crossbar D of the front platforln, and by similar arms, I' I', to the cross-bar D' of the rear platform. These arms aiford the only direct connection of the inner to the outer frame, and as of the inner frame, and directly above eachl axle J, is a box or projection, d, and in each projection is a slot or opening in which revolves a wheel, K, on a pin passing through the said box, the peripheries of the two wheels bearing on the axle, which thus sup-,

ports one end of the inner frame, the other end of the same being in like manner sup-` ported by the other axle. It will be observedV that the wheels K K bear on the axle near shoulders e e, formed on the same, so that these shoulders serve to maintain the inner frame in its proper lateral position in respect to the outer frame, while its proper longitudinal position in respect to the latter is main tained by the arms I and I', the whole weight ofthe inner frame being, as before remarked, supported on the axle, through the medium of the wheels K K.

Adjacent to keach of the flanged wheels cand to the longitudinal beams of the inner frame is secured a plate, L, and ou each plate is a circular projection cut away to an extent sufcient to allow for the free revolution of the axle, and to the circular projection of each plate is hung a rocking frame, N, two Opposite frames being connected together by rods ff, as best observed on reference to Figs. 2 and 3. To one end of each frame is secured a shield, M, and to the opposite end of the frame a similar shield, M', the inner edge of each shield being adapted to the form of, but free from contact with, the periphery of the flanged wheel c, the outer edge of each shield being beveled, as seen in the detached view, Fig. 5, for a purpose described hereinafter.

To each end of each rocking frame, and on the outside of the shield above alluded to, is hung a guard, h, the tendency of which, owing to its weight, is to assume a perpendicular position. The guards, however, are connected by cords or chains fi, Fig. l, to the inner frame,

so that on moving the rocking frame the guards will bevelevated to an inclined position, in the manner and for the purpose described hereinafter. Above each wheel is a brake-lever, P, the outer end of each lever being jointed to a projection, j, on the inner frame, and the two brake-levers on one side of the car being jointed one to the other, as seen at x, Fig. 2, the opposite brake levers being in like manner jointed to each other, and each lever having a detachable rubber for bearing against the periphery of the wheel. Through a slot in each brakevle'ver, near the outer end of the same, passes a. rod, Q, provided at the top with a head, k, and jointed at Ythe lower end to one arm of the lever It, a similar rod beingjointed to the other arm of the lever, and passing through a slot in the adjacent brake-lever. Two of these levers R are secured, one to each end of a shaft, S, which turns in bearings T T, one of which is secured to each of the longitudinal beams E and E of the inner frame, and to this shaft are secured two cams, U and U', to each of which is attached a cord or chain, m, that of one cam taking a course toward the 'front platform and that ofthe other cama Wheels.

To the shaft S, and between the longitudinal beams F and F' of the inner frame, a sleeve, W, is hung loosely, so as to turn freely, independently of the shaft. This sleeve has four arms, n u, each arm being forked at the end, and being so arranged that the forked ends of the two arms shall fit over oneof the rods f of the rocking frame adjacent to one of the axles while the forked ends ofthe other arms tit over one of the rods f of the rocking frame adjacent to the other axle. The sleeve W is provided with two arms or projections, p p, on which bear the ends of the two springs X X, the latter being secured to the inner frame, and tending to maintain the sleeve in a given position. To oneof the arms n of this sleeve is attached a cord or chain, g, which passes over a pin on one of the longitudinal beams of the inner frame, andv takes a course thence toward the front platform, where it may be connected to any suitable appliances by the aid of which the driver can readily pull the chain. A similar chain, q, connected to one of the opposite arms n of the sleeve W, passes over a pin attached to the inner frame, and takes a course toward the rear platform.

' Many devices have been proposed and others experimented with in connection with city railway-cars with the view of preventing' accidents. Shields placedin front of the wheels have been frequently tried, wlthout any beneficial results, however, owing `to. the fact that they have been heretofore secured direct to the car-frame, the height of which from the rails must necessarily vary according to the number of passengers in the car. Thus, if a shield or protector be arranged in front of the Wheels at asuitableheight-say halt'an inchabove the rails when the car has its full complement of passengers, the guard will be elevated to a distance of from two and a half to three inches above the rail when the car has but few passengers, and would consequently be inadequate to remove from the rails the limbs of passengers or others who may have accidentally fallen on the track. It will be observed that I overcome this diiiiculty by attaching the guards or shields to a frame which is independent, as regards its vertical position, ofthe outer frame to which the body of the car is attached. The inner frame rests, as before described, on the axles, and consequently its height from the rails never varies, while the outer frame is at liberty to yield, being furnished with the usual springs.

Simple permanent shields may be secured to the inner framein such a position as to effectually remove all obstructions and prevent danger to those who may have accidentally stumbled on the track, although I prefer the devices illustrated and described, the operation of which devices I will now proceed to explain. y

As long as the several chains and cords remain undisturbed, the rocking frames N will be in a horizontal position, and the guards and' shields all at the same height from the ground. Should there be an accumulation of snow and ice on the track, and the` car be moving in the direction of the arrow, Fig. l, the driver pulls the chain gat the front platform, thereby partially turning the sleeve W in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2,`and consequently both the rocking frames in the direction pointed out by their arrows. The points 2 2 of the shields M M are consequently brought close to the rails, while the guards h in front of these shields are elevated above the snow or ice, owing to their attachment by means of cords to the inner frame. The beveled edges of the shields, as the car moves, thus serve to cut the snow and ice from the rails, and serve to deposit it on each side of the same. In the same manner accumulations of mud,`sand, gravel, Ste., may be removed from the rails. vAfter releasing the chainq the springs X X will restore the sleeve, rocking frames, 85e., to their former position.

When the brakes have to be applied, the

vdriver .depresses the slide V at either end of the car, thereby pulling one of the chains m, partially turning the shaft S, and causing 4 the levers R to depress the whole of the brakelevers simultaneously, and apply their rubbersv to the peripheries of the wheels. It will be seen that the levers must be simultaneously depressed, whether the shaft S be turned to the right or to the left, owing to the levers being jointed together and to the rods Q passing through slots in the said levers.

I claim as my invention and desire to seeure by Letters Patentl. Shields or guards, of appropriate form,

arranged adjacent to the wheels of eity railroad'ears, and secured to a frame resting on and supported by the axles, and independent, as regards vertical position, of the frame which supports the body of the oar, substantially as set forth, for the purpose specified.

2. The rocking frames N N, hung to the within-described inner or independent frame, furnished with guards 1i h, and beveled shields M M, the whole being arranged and operating substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

3. The combination of rocking frames N, sleeve W, with its arms n n n a and p p, and springs X X, or their equivalents.

4. The brake-levers P, hung to the inner or independent frame, jointed to each other, and operating substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my naine to this specification in the presence of two subseribiug Witnesses.

JACOB RUTH.

Witnesses:

HENRY HoWsoN, JOHN WHITE.

l i i l 

